2020年经济学人 德国蓝筹股(1)

Business

商业板块

German blue chips

德国蓝筹股

Ascend¹ and deliver

外卖超人上榜

Delivery Hero could last longer in the DAX 30 than the firm it has replaced

相比被取代的公司，外卖超人会在DAX 30榜单上停留更久

Joining the index of Germany’s 30 biggest listed companies is usually a cause of celebration for the joiner rather than of controversy². Yet the arrival of Delivery Hero in the DAX 30 on August 24th ignited a fierce debate. How, critics grumble³, can a food-delivery company that has never made money or paid a dividend⁴, and no longer even does business in Germany, sit alongside Siemens, a 173-year-old engineering behemoth, and Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, in the elite⁵ group of the bluest of German blue chips?

一家公司若能加入德国30家最大上市公司的指数，那通常是一件值得庆祝，而非引发争议的事。然而，外卖英雄在8月24日上榜DAX30，这引发了一场激烈的争论。批评人士对此抱有微词，一家从未盈利，也从未支付股息，甚至不再在德国开展业务的送餐公司，是如何能够与拥有173年历史的工程巨擘西门子以及欧洲最大汽车制造商大众，一起跻身于德国蓝筹股最蓝的精英集团之列？

The simple answer is that membership of the DAX is determined⁶ mainly by market value and turnover⁷ of shares, with no profitability test (unlike America’s S&P 500 index of big firms, which requires four consecutive⁸ quarters in the black, among other criteria). And in that respect, Delivery Hero qualifies handily. Niklas Ostberg, its Swedish chief executive, boasts that the firm’s market capitalisation of 18.7bn euros ($22bn) is higher than that of several DAX members. Its share price has tripled over the past couple of years and it has attracted investments from the world’s richest companies, including Alibaba and Amazon, two global internet giants.

答案很简单，DAX指数的成员资格主要由市值和股票换手率决定，没有盈利能力测试（不同于美国的标准普尔500大公司指数，该指数要求连续四个季度盈利，还有其他标准）。在这方面，外卖超人就轻易获得资格了。外卖超人瑞典首席执行官尼克拉斯·奥斯特伯格夸耀公司的市值为187亿欧元(合220亿美元)，高于DAX的几家成员公司。该公司的股价在过去几年里增长了两倍，并吸引了世界上最富有的公司进行投资，包括阿里巴巴和亚马逊这两家全球互联网巨头。

1 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

4 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

8 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。